“...certainly the one creatively and emotionally that we are most committing to doing is Black Widow.” He continued by saying that: “Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of her is amazing. She’s a lead Avenger and has amazing stories in her own right to tell that we think would be fun to turn into a stand-alone franchise.”

If Marvel does decide to head in that direction, I believe that the movie will be set after the events of Captain America: Civil War. We got a little bit of Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow origin in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but a brand new franchise centering on Black Widow will definitely include an origin story, but it won’t be a central theme as we already know an established Black Widow very well since Iron Man 2. 

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

Scarlett Johansson should have had her own Black Widow movie a while ago, but I think now is the perfect time to take advantage of her ever-rising popularity, especially now that the MCU is getting a touch of weird and magic.

Nick Fury

With the potential of a Black Widow solo movie, and seeing where she stands at the end of Civil War, my theory is that she will again come in contact with Nick Fury, who would be in some kind of trouble, and she will have to eventually help him. 

At the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury says that not all of Hydra had being taken down, and that he was going to Europe on a mission. Even though Hydra was technically eradicated in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., there could still be some hidden pawns. 

Since Fury’s whereabouts were not mentioned in Captain America: Civil War, then he might still be somewhere in Europe carrying out his mission, as he could've returned to Europe after his very short appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

Being that Black Widow is in Germany, if she comes in contact with Nick Fury and has to battle what is left of Hydra, what possible villain can Marvel bring to the MCU to stand against Black Widow? 

Solo Movie?

A possible villain could be Yelena Belova, who also assumed the Black Widow mantle in the comics. In the comics she was a Russian assassin and spy, later under Hydra, and soon after became associated with the evil organization A.I.M.

Yelena Belova

Having her as the villain is also a way of introducing that organization to the MCU, as the mastermind behind A.I.M. is the super villain MODOK. If MODOK enters the picture, then a formation of an evil team such as the Masters of Evil, working under Thanos, is inevitable and truly fascinating. 

Another potential villain for the Black Widow solo movie could be Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. In the comics Drew was captured by Hydra and had her mind brainwashed to kill Nick Fury. Marvel could do a version of this, as it would also introduce a new character and future hero to the MCU. 

Being that Spider-Woman is part of Spider-Man lore, it could be the case that Spider-Woman’s character rights on the big screen belong to Sony. But, if Marvel and Sony worked a deal out to use Spider-Man, then the same could possibly happen for Spider-Woman. 

Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theaters May 2017.

Even so, as much as I would love to see Spider-Woman battle it out with Black Widow on the big screen, I don’t think it will be the case, since Spider-Man was just introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he is about to get a whole lot of marketing for his upcoming solo film Spider-Man: Homecoming.